Decision to close Andre Reed Park basketball courts draws a whistle

Rich Rivera, a four year neighbor of the Andre Reed Park, reacts after the Andre Reed Park basketball courts had three of the four basketball rims removed. Allentown mayor Ed Pawlowski made the decision to remove the rims after neighbors complained about noise and a lack of parking spots available.

Rich Rivera, a four year neighbor of the Andre Reed Park, reacts after the Andre Reed Park basketball courts had three of the four basketball rims removed. Allentown mayor Ed Pawlowski made the decision to remove the rims after neighbors complained about noise and a lack of parking spots available.

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski’s decision to cut off basketball play at an East Allentown park has youth sports organizers and other city politicos crying foul.

The controversy flared Monday afternoon when the mayor, bowing to complaints from neighbors in the area, ordered city parks officials to remove three of four rims on the public basketball courts at Andre Reed Park, formerly Irving Park.

The courts, opposite Dieruff High School on the park’s south side, are heavily used by east side youth, area adults and multiple basketball leagues. But according to Pawlowski’s Facebook page, the courts have also attracted a less desirable element that cities across the Lehigh Valley have complained of in recent years: “out of the area teenagers and adults.”

“The homeowners claimed these individuals have been using the courts well into the evening hours,” Pawlowski said on Facebook of a meeting he had with neighbors more than a month ago. “Blasting music, using profanity, trashing the park and driving cars on the grass and field, in general severely impacting their quality of life.”

Opponents of the decision say it’s Pawlowski’s abrupt move that’s impacting the quality of life.

Joe Jarjous, varsity basketball coach at Dieruff and the organizer of a Sunday evening basketball league on the Andre Reed Park courts, said removing the rims punishes the 300 to 400 youngsters and adults who use the courts daily. City leagues meet on the court in addition to Jarjous’s league, which is for high school freshmen from across the region.

If there’s a problem at night, it should be dealt with by the police, Jarjous said, not by punishing all the people who use the courts.

“It’s not like his decision is not affecting anybody doing positive things,” Jarjous said. “You’re taking away the courts from the guys doing the right things.”

Photo Gallery: Three of the four basketball rims at the Andre Reed Park basketball courts have been removed after a decision made by Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. Neighbors in the area complained about noise late at night and a lack of parking in front of their homes until the rims were removed by park officials on Monday, July 3, 2017.

(CAMERON HART / THE MORNING CALL)

EMILY PAINE / THE MORNING CALL

Dieruff head basketball coach Joseph Jarjous breaks with his team after a time out during the 2nd Annual Dieruff High School and Allentown Police Department "Unity" Basketball Game in 2016.

Dieruff head basketball coach Joseph Jarjous breaks with his team after a time out during the 2nd Annual Dieruff High School and Allentown Police Department "Unity" Basketball Game in 2016. (EMILY PAINE / THE MORNING CALL)

Neighbors who support the mayor’s move could not be reached by telephone on Thursday.

Jarjous said he has the option of moving his league indoors to the gym at Dieruff. He plans to do that Sunday, since the city has not reassigned him to another court, he said. But that’s not an option for those who play there causally and don’t have the money to pay for leagues or camps.

“I’m a minority coaching high school basketball, and part of it is having a voice for these kids,” said Jarjous, who is Syrian-American. “I’m worried about these kids outside during the days that don’t have anywhere to go.”

About two-dozen homes sit across East Tilghman Street from the basketball courts at Andre Reed Park, which has been a fixture in the neighborhood for decades. The park’s swimming pool and various other structures were built in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration. The park was renamed for NFL hall-of-famer Andre Reed in 2014.

Pawlowski said Thursday that the city tried other methods to deter people using the park at night, including locking the box that controls the lights for the courts. It was broken into, Pawlowski said.

“We cut the power to the lights, cars would then drive up onto the grass and shine their headlights on the courts,” Pawlowski said. “We assigned extra patrols and park rangers to monitor. They passed out numerous tickets, again to no avail.”

Pawlowski said he left one rim hanging to accommodate youngsters in the community, but that won’t be enough to accommodate leagues. However, the city cannot have every league at that park, he said. The basketball courts at other parks have less impact on neighbors, like Cedar Beach Park in the city’s west end and Jordan Park near the Whitehall border.

Pawlowski said the rims will remain down until a solution can be reached, such as portable basketball hoops that can be disassembled at night. A public meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Dieruff cafeteria.

Aren’t we always complaining there’s more kids playing video games and doing things they’re not supposed to do? I want the children to be playing basketball.— Councilwoman Cynthia Mota

That’s not good enough, say several members of Allentown City Council who have rallied behind Jarjous and neighbors upset by the decision. Councilwoman Cynthia Mota said she has spoken to some of the residents who complained, and finds tearing down the rims an overreaction.

If the issue is basketball players parking in the grass or playing after hours, the police or the parking authority should be responding, Mota said.

“Aren’t we always complaining that there’s more kids playing video games and doing things they’re not supposed to do?” Mota said. “We want kids to be doing positive things. I want the children to be playing basketball.”

President Ray O’Connell said he supported increased police patrols at the park, but a solution can be found without depriving area children of the park, he said.

“To deprive the kids of playing basketball in the summer and to disrupt the leagues being run there, I think the situation could have been handled with the rims up,” O’Connell said.

Jarjous questioned the political motivations of the mayor. Some of the houses that sit across the street from the basketball courts displayed Pawlowski campaign signs in their yards before the May primary. Jarjous said he received a call Thursday from a representative of a local Syrian club that campaigned for Pawlowski during the primary.